Jim Banks
Glide Fish

Price: £ 495.00

Description / Purchase Video About Jim Banks

Long before the term professional free surfer had become an accepted part of the surfing vernacular Jim Banks had established a cult following as an intrepid surf traveller who was willing to push the limitations of design and performance in extreme situations.

A hollow-legged appetite for heavy, challenging reef breaks was developed from a young age at the breaks around, Cronulla [Sydney Australia]. Voodoo and Shark Island were the spots where he first earned his stripes by charging the hollow and explosively forceful waves, which hit the two world-class reef breaks. Taller than most surfers with his ability, he revelled in powerful conditions where speed and momentum were readily available.

Jim’s brief competitive career coincided with the formative years of professional surfing. He became the first backside surfer to win at Sunset in the 79 Pro class trials and in 81 proved he was equally as skilled on his forehand when he took out the Om Bali Pro. But despite the competitive success it was increasingly Jim’s willingness to put himself in situations others wouldn’t that was getting the attention. 1978world champion Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew was in awe of Jim’s approach to pipeline.
“Banks is something of an enigma in big wave riding circles. He attacked the Pipeline like a true warrior, he’d paddle out as though every session were his last, and considering his approach to the world’s deadliest intersection, every session could easily have been his last. On a good west day at Pipeline, the pecking order, starting with Lopez, would jockey within a very tight, take off zone, but sitting a good forty metres inside of this elite pack was Banks always. ASL 1996.

In the end Jim became disillusioned with professional surfing and went in search of a surfing state of mind that was very removed from the mainstream direction in which the pro circuit was heading. After walking away from the tour in 1981 he began to spend more time pursuing waves in remote locations that would challenge not only his surfing ability but also his capacity to develop suitable equipment. There was also a major cultural dynamic to Jim’s motivation to explore new surfing frontiers. “Jim Banks is a real explorer. He makes his own boards, heads off to Indo, stays in primitive housing, learning the language and customs of the locals and carves up anything that comes his way. He’s his own man, easily recognised by the gleam in his eye.” …James Elder, ASL annual 1990.

Many of the waves Jim pioneered, like Grajagan, Desert Point and Gnarloo are now pencilled into every surfers list of must surf locations and he is still an advocate of the nomadic surfing lifestyle which opens the mind up to a realm of possibilities and breeds an unshakeable sense of independence and resourcefulness.

These days Jim resides in Byron Bay. He spends his days making boards for all kinds of conditions and attending to his tribe of six kids. He has travelled down many of surfing’s paths and so exists as a kind of sage who is well qualified to offer meditations on the passion that became his reason for being.

“Oh yeah, and he still rips.”
Luke Kennedy, Tracks

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